Tuesday, June 02, 2015

DWF ’15: SuperBob

He
is sort of like a British Ralph Hinkley (The
Greatest American Hero), except Robert Kenner has a much better handle on
his powers and much less of a life. Maybe, just maybe, he can have a reasonably
grown-up date with a bombshell fan on his day off, if politics and
international crises do not preempt him in Jon Drever’s SuperBob (trailer
here),
which screens during the eighteenth Dances With Films, in Hollywood,
California.

Kenner
(a.k.a. SuperBob) is not really a superhero. He is a civil servant, supervised
by a new division of the British defense ministry. Sure, he does superhero
stuff, but he has to have everyone he saves fill out annoying paperwork
afterward. His handler Theresa Ford keeps poor Kenner on a short leash, but it
is not like the Peckham resident has much going on in his life. Just ask
Dorris, his dismissive part-time Colombian housekeeper.

The
documentary film crew following Kenner will give her plenty of opportunities to
dish on her socially awkward boss (but wisely, Drever is not slavishly faithful
to the mockumentary format). However, as she helps Kenner prepare for his date
with a librarian hottie who would be way out of his league if it were not for
his flying and invulnerability, sparks will start to fly between them. Unfortunately,
both potential romances will have to be put on hold when Kenner is summoned for
a high powered summit with an American senator concerned about unregulated
super-heroism.

SuperBob is endearingly
amusing when it focuses on Bob’s romantic ineptitude and the things that plague
him which we all can relate to, such as reams of government paperwork. However,
it falls flat when it tries to score wider satirical points. Everyone knows
Americans love superheroes, so the notion of a senator (who oh so
coincidentally bears a strong resemblance to Pres. George W. Bush) trying to
demonize SuperBob never rings remotely true. At its best, satire takes readily
identifiable aspects of reality and twists them for comedic purposes. Arguably,
the depiction of Sen. Jackson only really expresses the preconceptions and
biases Drever and co-screenwriters William Bridges and Brett Goldstein have
tried to project on their straw man.

The
clunky political score settling is unfortunate, because it interrupts some
rather endearing rom-com chemistry developed between Goldstein and Natlia Tena.
After years of Marvel’s more everyman approach to super-heroics and William
Katt’s comedic caped-crusading, viewers are well attuned to the private side of
superheroes. Nevertheless, there is something decidedly charming about Kenner’s
frustrated devotion to his mother, his shyness around girls, and his pride in
his Peckham neighborhood. Frankly, it is a shame they didn’t have him around
during the 2011 riots.

Featuring
Doctor Who’s Catherine Tate as Ford
and Laura Haddock from Da Vinci’s Demonsas
June the librarian, SuperBob should
be able to count on heavy geek interest. In fact, it is quite enjoyable when it
is not trying to make statements. Recommended for fans of slightly
rough-around-the-edges superhero comedies, SuperBob
screens tomorrow (6/3) as part DWF18.

About Me

J.B. (Joe Bendel) works in the book publishing industry, and also teaches jazz survey courses at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies. He has written jazz articles for publications which would be appalled by his political affiliation. He also coordinated instrument donations for displaced musicians on a volunteer basis for the Jazz Foundation of America during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Send e-mail to: jb.feedback "at" yahoo "dot" com.